Social Democracy in Europe: Rise, Demise, Ideological Twists and Political Choices

Will German Social Democrats (SPD) have electoral success on 26 September? If so, what is the secret of their success? Social democratic parties in Europa have suffered a steady political decline in the past decades. Some have disappeared; some opted for joining ideologically diverse coalitions, others adopted radical political choices, mostly on migration. What is the reason for these trends: economic, cultural, sociological, or demographic?

Two leading international experts on social democracy in Europe, Tarik Abou-Chadi and Sheri Berman, will explore the causes of this downward trend, Susi Meret will focus on the Danish experience of combining welfare generosity with anti-migration policies, and Judy Dempsey will look at SPD political choices, one week ahead of the elections in Germany.

Speakers: 

Tarik Abou-Chadi is Associate Professor of Comparative European Politics at Nuffield College at the University of Oxford. His research investigates the transformation of politics in post-industrial societies and especially focuses on support for the radical right as well as the decline of European social democracy. Based in Oxford/Berlin.
Sheri Berman is Professor of Political Science at Barnard College, Columbia University. She is the author of numerous books and scholarly articles on European politics and political development, the left, fascism, populism, and the fate of democracy.  Based in New York.
Susi Meret is Associate Professor in Comparative Migration Politics and Ethnic Relations in the Social Sciences, Department of Culture and Global Studies, Aalborg University (AAU), Denmark. Based in Aalborg.
Judy Dempsey is a non-resident fellow at the Carnegie Europe and editor-in-chief of the Strategic Europe blog. She is based in Berlin.

Format and moderators:

Ivan Vejvoda, Europe’s Futures/IWM and Mirjana Tomić, Presseclub Concordia/fjum will moderate the conversation. A live Q@A session will follow.

Register HERE. Registration is mandatory. You will receive a Zoom link a day before the event. Registration deadline: Saturday, 18 September 2021.